GB1568252A

GB1568252A - Devices for compensating synchronous disturbances in the magnetic suspension system of a rotor

Info

Publication number: GB1568252A
Application number: GB54027/76A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Societe Europeenne de Propulsion SEP SA
Current assignee: Societe Europeenne de Propulsion SEP SA
Priority date: 1975-12-24
Filing date: 1976-12-24
Publication date: 1980-05-29
Also published as: BE849836A; JPS6014929B2; FR2336602A1; ES454558A0; US4121143A; CH611394A5; JPS5293852A; FR2336602B1; IT1104629B; NL7614085A; DE2658668C2; JPS62124319A; CA1081829A; DE2658668A1

Description

PATENT SPECIFICATION

Application No 54027/76 ( 22) Filed 24 Dec 1976 Convention Application No 7539759 Filed 24 Dec 1975 in France (FR) Complete Specification published 29 May 1980

INT CL 3 GO 5 D 3/00 ( 52) Index at acceptance G 3 R A 26 A 382 BC 25 ( 54) IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO DEVICES FOR COMPENSATING SYNCHRONOUS DISTURBANCES IN THE MAGNETIC SUSPENSION SYSTEM OF A ROTOR ( 71) We, SOCIETE EUROPEENNE DE PROPULSION, of 3, Avenue de General de Gaulle, 92800 Puteaux, France, a French Company, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement:-

The present invention relates to a device for compensating synchronous disturbances in the magnetic suspension system of a rotor It is concerned with a suspension system having at least one radial electromagnetic bearing which has means associated therewith for detecting the radial position of the rotor A servo-circuit is connected between the detecting means and windings of the electromagnetic bearing and includes a circuit controlling the current supply to those windings It acts in response to signals supplied by the detecting means to keep the rotor in a predetermined radial position.

In any suspension system, whether it is mechanical, with hydraulically or pneumatically lubricated bearings, or whether it is magnetic, the problem arises of balancing the suspended rotor It is impossible to machine and mount a rotor in bearings in such a manner that its axis of inertia coincides exactly with the axis of rotation defined by the bearings This noncoincidence results in unbalance.

In a mechanical suspension system, the existence of this unbalance results, when the rotor rotates, in alternating forces being transmitted by the bearings, giving rise to undesirable vibrations of the stator To limit the amplitude of these vibrations, elaborate balancing of the rotor for its rated speed is generally carried out This is achieved by means of additional masses distributed over the rotor in such a manner as to make its axis of inertia coincide with the axis of rotation defined by the bearings This manner of balancing requires high precision and great delicacy Moreover, it cannot compensate for later variations due for example to ageing or to deformations of thermal origin Also, in this balancing, when it is performed for a given rated speed of rotation, cannot compensate for variations which may arise when the rotor is driven at a speed other than its rated speed.

With electromagnetic suspension systems the existence of any unbalance results in a tendency of the rotor to rotate about an axis, its axis of inertia, distinct from the predetermined axis of rotation defined by the bearing But, it can be arranged that, as soon as the actual axis of rotation of the rotor departs from its predetermined position, a detection device emits an error signal which is transmitted to the windings of the bearing in such a form as to bring the axis of rotation back to the predetermined position The problem of balancing the rotor is to some extent answered, but it is often still necessary to provide additional masses as described above and the same drawbacks as those already mentioned remain.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a device for reducing considerably, or even cancelling, in a magnetic suspension system for a rotor the harmful effects due to stray disturbances.

These generally have their origin in the existence of some unbalance and result in the transmission by the detection system of alternating error signals with a frequency equal to the angular speed of rotation of the rotor But there exist other types of stray disturbances synchronous with the rotation.

These may, for example, have their origin in defects of symmetry of the rotary or static elements of a motor driving the rotor carried by the magnetic suspension system.

All these synchronous disturbances are of an alternating nature, and their frequency is related to the speed of rotation of the rotor, that is to say a frequency that is equal to, or is a multiple of that angular velocity Thus ( 21) ( 31) ( 32) ( 33) ( 44) ( 51) ( 11) 1 568 252 2 1568,252 2 the present invention aims also to combat the effects due to any synchronous disturbances, such as may originate in defects of geometrical or magnetic symmetry of the rotor, or of the position detectors, or of the bearings, or even of an electric motor driving the rotor.

According to the present invention there is provided a magnetic suspension system for a rotor, comprising at least one active radial electromagnetic bearing having electromagnetic windings; detecting means for producing a position signal representative of the radial position of the rotor with respect to a predetermined radial position; energizing means for supplying current to said windings; and a servo-circuit coupled between said detecting means and said energizing means for controlling the current supplied to said windings in response to said position signal so as to maintain the rotor in said predetermined radial position, wherein said servo-circuit comprise: band rejection filter means receiving said position signal and having a frequency rejection band centered on a central frequency equal to n & where N is an integer and W is the rotational speed of the rotor, for eliminating from said position signal a component having the frequency n.6 o, and means for generating a signal representative of the rotational speed o of the rotor and connected to said band rejection filter means for continuously slaving said central frequency of said frequency rejection band to the value n w.

The band rejection filter is centered on a frequency equal to the speed of rotation of the rotor so that the disturbances due to any unbalance and due to the detector are not transmitted to the control circuit For these disturbances the rigidity of the bearing is considerably reduced, and the rotor is therefore free to rotate about its axis of inertia Thus, whereas with the method of balancing by means of additional masses an attempt is made to ensure that the axis of inertia of the rotor should correspond with the axis of rotation defined by the bearing, there is performed, in accordance with this invention, a "balancing" of the rotor by causing or allowing its axis of rotation to coincide with its axis of inertia This occurs whatever the variations in the unbalance might be.

In a preferred form, the detecting means has first and second portions respectively adapted to produce first and second signals together comprising said position signal and representative of the radial position of the rotor in relation to first and second mutually perpendicular axes normal to the axis of rotation of the rotor in a fixed reference system.

In more detail, the band rejection filter means may comprise a first two-input adder having a first input connected to said first detecting means portion for receiving said first signal and an output connected to said energizing means; a second two-input adder having a first input connected to said second detecting means portion for receiving said second signal and an output connected to said energizing means; a first conversion circuit for performing a co-ordinate conversion from said fixed reference system to a rotating reference system constituted by two mutually perpendicular axes normal to the axis of rotatidn of the rotor and which rotate with respect to the fixed reference system at a speed equal to n co said first conversion circuit having first and second inputs connected to the outputs of said first and second adders, respectively, to receive the output signals thereof for converting said output signals into third and fourth signals; a first integrator connected to said first conversion circuit to receive and integrate said third signal; a second integrator connected to said first conversion circuit to receive and integrate said fourth signal; and a second conversion circuit for performing a co-ordinate conversion from said rotating reference system to said fixed reference system, said second conversion circuit having first and second inputs connected to said first and second integrators to receive the integrated signals supplied thereby and convert said integrated signals into fifth and sixth signals, said first and second adders having second inputs connected to said second conversion circuit to receive said fifth and sixth signals, respectively.

Generally the first and second conversion circuits will be resolver circuits and a tachometric generator will be provided for delivering to said conversion circuits a signal representative of the speed of rotation of the rotor.

The first and second integrators may each have a narrow pass band limited to low frequencies below 1 Hz The central frequency of the band rejection filter may be equal to or an integral multiple of the speed of rotation of the rotor.

This system provides a band rejection filter with a frequency constantly and automatically slaved to the speed of rotation of the rotor With any unbalance, automatic balancing is carried out whatever the variations of the unbalance may be and for any speed of rotation of the rotor.

For a better understanding of the invention one embodiment thereof will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a half axial section of a rotor mounted in radial magnetic bearings; 1.568252 1,568,252 Figure 2 is a full radial section on the line II-II of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a full radial section on the line 11 I-111 of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a diagram of a servo-circuit of a device in accordance with the invention; Figure 5 is a representation of the rotating system constituted by the rotor; Figure 6 is a graph of the transfer function of a counter-reaction circuit shown in Figure 4; Figure 7 is a graph of the overall transfer function of a processing circuit shown in Figure 4; and Figure 8 is a graph representing the rigidity of the bearing as a function of the frequency of the disturbances to which the rotor is subjected.

Figures 1 to 3 show a rotor 1 supported in a stator 2 by means of two radial magnetic bearings 3 Each bearing is an electromagnet with eight windings 4 mounted on poles of a fixed armature 5.

These co-operate with a ring armature 6 fixed to and coaxial with the rotor 1.

The windings are arranged as two sets of opposed pairs Ex, Ex' and Ey, Ey' associated with two fixed orthogonal diametral axes x'x and y'y respectively.

These reference axes are perpendicular to the predetermined rotational axis z'z defined by the bearing The pairs of a set, for example Ex and Ex', are diametrically opposed and each exerts an attraction on the rotor when their windings are energised.

In the example illustrated, each pair of windings 4 is connected in series.

Each bearing has associated with it a radial detection device 7 with two pairs of detectors Dx, Dx' and Dy, Dy' disposed on two fixed axes respectively parallel to x'x and y'y The two detectors of one and the same pair are diametrically opposed In the example illustrated, each detector is constituted by several windings 8 mounted on a fixed armature 9 co-operating with a ring armature 10 fixed to and coaxial with the rotor 1 Other types of detector may be used, in particular detectors of the capacitive or optical type.

The rotor 1 may be driven by means of an electric motor (not shown) having its stator fixed with respect to the stator 2 and its rotor fixed with respect to the rotor 1.

It is known to slave each bearing from the signals of the detectors by means of a circuit comprising adders such as II and 12 (Figure 4) which summate the signals of each pair of detectors and deliver at their respective outputs signals x and y representative of the gap between the actual and predetermined radial positions of the axis of rotation of the rotor, respectively along axes x'x and y'y.

In a known servo-circuit the signals x and y are applied respectively to the inputs 13 a and 13 b of a control circuit 13 which governs the electromagnets Ex, Ex', Ey and Ey' Such a control circuit comprises, in the example shown, phase advance networks 14, 15 which supply control signals xc, yr to phase converters 16, 17, these produce signals x'c, x"c and y'c, y"c which, when amplified by means of amplifiers Ax, Ac', Ay, Ay', are fed to the electromagnets Ex, Ex', Ey and Ey' with the suitable polarity.

Several such control circuits are known; see for example British Patent No 1,410,219.

In the present compensation system, a further circuit is inserted between the outputs of the adders 11 and 12 and the inputs 13 a and 13 b of the control circuit 13.

This is a processing circuit 18 which reduces or eliminates the transmission of stray disturbances to the control circuit.

When the rotor 1 is unbalanced, there is a diametrical departure E between its predetermined rotational axis O and its axis of inertia I (Figure 5) However small this may be, it results in the transmission, through the detectors, of stray alternating error signals whose frequency of variation, in Hz, is equal to the speed of rotation of the rotor expressed in revolutions per second.

The circuit 18 of Figure 4 filters out these stray error signals generated by the unbalance of the rotor 1.

The circuit 18 comprises two adders Sx and Sy, each with two inputs Their first inputs are connected respectively with the outputs of the adders 11 and 12 and thus receive respectively the signals x and y The outputs of the adders Sx and Sy are connected respectively to the inputs 13 a and 13 b of the control circuit 13, and supply respectively signals x, and y 5 A counterreaction circuit 19 is connected between the outputs of the adders Sx and Sy and their second inputs.

The counter-reaction circuit 19 comprises a first conversion circuit or resolver RI receiving at first and second inputs signals x, and y respectively and supplying at its two outputs signals X and Y respectively such that:X=x cos wt+y sin wot l Y=-x sin t-t+y, cos (st co being equal to the angular speed of the rotor, and t representing time.

Considering x, and y to be the coordinates of a point in a fixed reference system with axes x'x and y'y, X and Y will represent the co-ordinates of this point in a rotating reference system with orthogonal axes X'X and Y'Y (Figure 5) These axes will be perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the rotor, intersect on that axis, and be fixed with respect to the rotor Any 4 unbalance generates stray error sig having a frequency equal to the speec rotation of the rotor, as mentioned ab and the conversion effected by the reso Rl effectively makes the unbalance fi relative to the rotor This can be use( compensate the departure E.

For this to be achieved, the signals X Y are integrated in the rotating refere system by means of integrators IX anc respectively Any unbalance being fixe 4 very slowly variable, it will be possibl, limit the pass band of integrators IX an to low or even very low frequencies.

signals X, and Y supplied by the integra IX and IY are applied to first and sec inputs of a second conversion circuit resolver, R 2 which effects a conver reverse to that of the resolver Rl and wi supplies at its two outputs signals x, an These are applied to the second inpul the adders Sx and Sy respectively.

Signalk x, and y, are returned to the adz with a polarity opposed to that of signa and y, and we have:

C x,=-X, cos cot-Y 1 sin ct y,=-X, sin wt+Y, cos tot F xs=x+x, Ys=Y+YI Therefore the effect is as if superimposition was made on signals x a of compensation signals representin fictitious unbalance balancing the unbalance.

Resolvers R, and R 2 each receive third input a signal cot, supplied b tachometric converter circuit 20, c magnitude proportional to the actual s I of rotation of the rotor These resc circuits Rl and R 2 convert data betwe fixed reference system and a rota reference system, and may be of kn construction In particular, the circui may be a numerical circuit, signals x a:

being converted into numerical form be being applied to the circuit 19 and signals xs and y being converted to an form before being applied to the coi circuit 13 With regard to the reversal oa signals which are returned to the adders summated to the signals x and y, this ma carried out by inversion of the signals at point in the counter-reaction circuit 1 ' Assuming that fi denotes the frequent the signal x 5 and f the speed of the rot, revolutions per second, the tral function T of the counter-reaction circu varies as illustrated in the asymp representation of Figure 6 AF repre, 1,568,252 nals the pass band of the integrators IX and IY d of and K the amplification of these integrators.

ove, We have:

K T=r P 1 ±p l+with and P=.jio,1-wo I= 2 nrjlfi-fl Acw= 2 7 r Af Signals x, and y, being reinjected with a sign opposite to that of signals xs and y,, the transfer function G of the entirety of the circuit 18 can be expressed as:

I+T and is illustrated in the asymptotic representation of Figure 7 Circuit 18 therefore constitutes for signals x and y a and band rejection filter with a narrow frequency band centered on a frequency always equal to the speed of rotation of the rotor As represented in Figure 7, the gain is divided by a factor (K+l) in a frequency band whose width decreases, with the gain, by a value equal to 2 (K+l) Af down to a a value of 2 Af.

nd y The rigidity C of the bearing is g a represented in Figure 8 The presence of the real circuit 18 causes a sudden drop of the rigidity in a frequency band centered on the at a frequency f For any synchronous y a disturbance, i e of a frequency equal to the f a speed of rotation, the rigidity of the bearing )eed is eliminated and the rotor rotates freely D Iver about its axis of inertia As already en a mentioned, the unbalance associated with ting the rotor is generally constant or slowly own variable and it will be possible to limit the t 19 pass band of the integrators to the very low nd y frequencies, for example below 1 Hz and fore even to 0 1 Hz in order to cancel the rigidity the of the bearing substantially exclusively for alog synchronous disturbances.

ntrol Ftrol From the asymptotic curve of Figure 8 it the will be seen that rigidity C is, for frequency and f, substantially divided by (K+ 1).

y be Advantageously, provision is made for the any integrators IX and IY to be amplifiers with 9 variable gain so as to be able to adjust the cy of value K Moreover, in order to prevent the or in rigidity of the bearing being nil when the nsfer rotor starts, cut-out means are provided lit 19 permitting the activation of the countertotic reaction circuit 18 only after the rotor has sents started These cut-out means may include a 1,568,252 switch mounted in series in circuit 18 Also, before the rotor has started, it is possible to keep the gain K of the amplifiers at a nil value by means of a regulator element.

The device described above is suitable for the elimination of all synchronous stray disturbances, particularly those due to the existence of unlbalance.

But, as already indicated, other types of stray disturbances connected with the speed of rotation of the rotor may exist These disturbances, due for example to defects of symmetry of the position detectors or to defects of construction of the driving motor, which might for example have a slightly elliptical-shaped stator or rotor, give rise to cyclic stray error signals from the detectors.

Such stray disturbances may be broken down into harmonics of a base frequency equal to the speed of rotation of the motor.

The even harmonics are eliminated as a result of the arrangement of the detectors in diametrically opposed pairs, but the odd harmonics result in the transmission of stray error signals at an odd multiple frequency of the base frequency.

The device of Figure 4 compensates for these stray signals by supplying to the resolvers RI and R 2 a signal representative of ncot, N being the order of harmonic of the base frequency for which a filtering of the signals from the detectors is desired This signal representative of ncot may be simply obtained through multiplications of the signal supplied by the converter 20 The resolver RI then converts co-ordinates of the fixed reference system (x'x, y'y) into those of a reference system rotating relative to said fixed reference system with an angular speed nco The resolver R 2 performs the reverse conversion.

Various modifications and additions to the system are envisaged In particular, it will be possible to use several processing circuits such as 18, each associated with a particular frequency Finally, it will be noted that the device, although it has been described for a single radial detection system, can also be associated with each radial detection system provided in the rotor suspension device.

Claims

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:-

1 A magnetic suspension system for a rotor, comprising at least one active radial electromagnetic bearing having electromagnetic windings; detecting means for producing a position signal representative of the radial position of the rotor with respect to a predetermined radial position; energizing means for supplying current to said windings; and a servo-circuit coupled between said detecting means and said energizing means for controlling the current supplied to said windings in response to said position signal so as to maintain the rotor in said predetermined radial position, wherein said servo-circuit comprises:

band rejection filter means receiving said position signal and having a frequency rejection band centered on a central frequency equal to n co, where N is an integer and co is the rotational speed of the rotor, for eliminating from said position signal a component having the frequency n.(o, and means for generating a signal representative of the rotational speed co of the rotor and connected to said band rejection filter means for continuously slaving said central frequency of said frequency rejection band to the value n co.

2 A magnetic suspension system as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the detecting means has first and second portions respectively adapted to produce first and second signals together comprising said position signal and representative of the radial position of the rotor in relation to first and second mutually perpendicular axes normal to the axis of rotation of the rotor in a fixed reference system.

3 A magnetic suspension system as claimed in Claim 2, wherein said band rejection filter means comprises:

a first two-input adder having a first input connected to said first detecting means portion for receiving said first signal and an output connected to said energizing means; a second two-input adder having a first input connected to said second detecting means portion for receiving said second signal and an output connected to said energizing means; a first conversion circuit for performing a co-ordinate conversion from said fixed reference system to a rotating reference system constituted by two mutually perpendicular axes normal to the axis of rotation of the rotor and which rotate with respect to the fixed reference system at a speed equal to n co said first conversion circuit having first and second inputs connected to the outputs of said first and second adders, respectively, to receive the output signals thereof for converting said output signals into third and fourth signals; a first integrator connected to said first conversion circuit to receive and integrate said third signal; a second integrator connected to said first conversion circuit to receive and integrate said fourth signal; and a second conversion circuit for performing a co-ordinate conversion from said rotating reference system to said fixed reference system, said second conversion circuit having first and second inputs connected to said first and second 1,568,252 integrators to receive the integrated signals supplied thereby and convert said integrated signals into fifth and sixth signals, said first and second adders having second inputs connected to said second conversion circuit to receive said fifth and sixth signals, respectively.

4 A magnetic suspension system as claimed in Claim 3, wherein said first and second conversion circuits are resolver circuits, and wherein a tachometric generator is provided for delivering to said conversion circuits a signal representative of the speed of rotation of the rotor.

5 A magnetic suspension system as claimed in Claim 3 or 4, wherein each of said first and second integrators has a narrow pass band limited to low frequencies below 1 Hz.

6 A magnetic suspension system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said central frequency is equal to the rotational speed of the rotor.

7 A magnetic suspension system for a rotor, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

WYNNE-JONES, LAINE & JAMES, Chartered Patent Agents, 22, Rodney Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, Agents for the Applicants.

Printed for Her Majesty's Stationery Office, by the Courier Press, Leamington Spa 1980 Published by The Patent Office 25 Southampton Buildings London WC 2 A IAY from which copies may be obtained.